Introduction to Stoicism

You’re probably already a stoic in someway. It’s part of our culture. Influenced by Socrates and emerging in Ancient Greece in the 3rd century BC, it’s a foundation of Christianity, is maybe the first psychology, contributed to the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, guided a Roman Emporer, and has become increasingly popular in recent years, through events like Stoicon, Annual Stoic Week, and a flurry of new of popular books and articles.

Could it really be a guide to the best possible life?

This introduction to Stoicism will mix two things: what the Stoics of Ancient Greece and Rome actually said – the original doctrines – and how this might be interpreted and be useful today.

IN the first part, I’ll look at the Ancient Stoics – Marcus Aurelius (Meditations), Epictetus (Discourses), Seneca, and Zeno; and in the second part, I’ll look at Stoicism in practice, especially through William Irvine’s A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy.

The Greek Stoics divided Stoicism into three parts: logic, physics, and ethics. None of these terms, though, meant what they do today.

Logic was formal logic, but also rhetoric, language, poetry

Physics mostly meant the study of God and the world – essentially how things work.

They also broke all of this into two parts: theory and practice

Philosophy, importantly, needed to both studied and practiced, learned and executed. Exercises, reflection, and self-improvement were fundamental.

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Sources:

William B. Irvine, A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy

John Sellars, Stoicism

Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy

Stoicism: A Very Short Introduction

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Epictetus, Handbook & Discourses

Michael Sugrue, Lecture,